Education Commons^™

The Propensity Of Character Education To Promote And Predict Moral Development As Measured In Middle School Students, Kristine Smith

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

With an interest in whether character education programs promoted moral development, a study was conducted on a group of middle school students. The question driving this quantitative research asked whether four components of character education—namely self-management, self-efficacy, social awareness, and growth mindset—might predict moral reasoning in adolescents. Data from a multiple and simple regression provided an answer to this study’s question. Surveys completed by 126 students (grades six through eight) provided data for the initial multiple regression. Upon conducting the multiple regression, growth mindset emerged as the only component with a statistically significant (p < .001) relationship with moral reasoning. After the non-relational variables were removed, and a simple regression was conducted, the analysis indicated growth mindset accounted for 11% of a student’s moral reasoning and yielded a small effect size of .11. Along with identifying a significant relationship between growth mindset and moral reasoning, the study further identified an underlying relationship between context, growth mindset, and moral development. In light of Christian educators’ “Scriptural advantage”, Christian schools hold a “contextual advantage” when it comes to establishing cognitive, instructional, and societal contexts.

Tales From A Recession: Encouragement For New Teachers During Uncertain Times, Carolyn Mitten

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

New teachers will be facing many uncertainties this year as they begin their teaching career after a worldwide pandemic. As teacher educators, we are called to care for our students not only in our courses but also as they journey into their first years of teaching. This essay reflects on lessons the author learned from entering her own teaching career during the Great Recession and words of encouragement for teacher educators looking to support their new graduates during such a challenging yet exciting time.

Civic Education In K-12 School Enhanced Through A Christian Faith Lens Perspective, Alex R. Lin Dr., Kathy H. Rim Dr.

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

Nationwide concerns about the declining political health of the United States has prompted questions on how to instruct and prepare youth to engage in civic life, particularly in K-12 public schools. This priority is also known as civic education, a broad curricular approach aimed at facilitating students’ development of key civic knowledge, skills, and behaviors. Fortunately, the Christian worldview can enhance the individuals' ability to effectively teach students about the importance of civics due to overlaps in community values. This literature review draws on theoretical and empirical work to provide an integrative framework that fuses Christian ethos with civic …

Book Reviews: On The Topic Of Reading, Christina Belcher

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Developing Inviting Schools, Sean Schat

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

No abstract provided.

Betwixt And Between: Liminality In Teachers’ Lives And In The Pandemic, Sunshine R. Sullivan, Ken Badley

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

The pandemic has altered the ways educators carry out their work, having forced them to switch en masse in March, 2020 to online instruction and then to various combinations of online and hybrid instruction. Along with educational policy-makers, classroom educators and school leaders wonder when education will return to normal and the degree to which educational normal will look like it did prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. Educating during a pandemic fits the anthropological concept of liminality, of being between two states (introduced by van Gennep in 1909). After noting the origins and meaning of the concept of a liminal …

Leaning Into The Disposition Of Hope: Reflections From A Teacher Educator, Michelle C. Hughes Dr.

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

Teaching is multifaceted work that must foster safety, structure, comfort, and connection for K-12 students (Noddings,1984; Shotsberger & Freytag, 2020; Tomlinson, 2019). During the Covid-19 pandemic, a teacher's presence has necessitated fostering an even greater sense of stability and hope for and in K-12 students. With complex challenges such as teaching remotely and responding to students' mental health needs, pre-service and veteran teachers alike must cultivate hope in professional practice more than ever before. Hughes explores the disposition of hope, offering educators five practical suggestions to seek and share hope, use hope-filled language, find hope in community, and view times …

Defining And Assessing Spiritual Formation: A Necessity For Christian Schooling, James Drexler, Amy H. Bagby

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

Assessing Spiritual Formation Abstract

Virtually every Christian school promises a “Christian” this, a “God-centered” that, or a “biblical” something else in its mission and philosophy statements. These commitments are used in marketing, and are regarded as educational outcomes for each school. Christian schools are fairly skilled with their assessments of academic outcomes, but many are not even trying to assess the spiritual formation of their students. With the development of qualitative research methods over the past few decades, Christian educators now have reliable, robust, and usable methods to complete this important evaluation of their programs and practices. This article explores …

Book Review: Autism Spectrum Disorder In The Canadian Context: An Introduction, Edith Van Der Boom

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Thornhill, S., & Badley, K. (2021). Generating Tact And Flow For Effective Teaching And Learning: Routledge. Isbn 9780367628949, Hardcover, 150 Pages., Christina Belcher

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

Thornhill & Badley explore the methodology of Csikszenmihalyi and Van Manen regarding he topics of tact and flow. They analyze teacher narratives to demonstrate how pedagogy can generate tact and flow in their classroom teaching for pre-service and existing teachers.

From The Editor, Sean Schat

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

No abstract provided.

From The Editor, Sean Schat

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

No abstract provided.